Curto saves Knights in Stamford baseball's win over Trinity

Emery Filmer

Updated 11:11 pm, Tuesday, April 23, 2013

STAMFORD -- It was the type of situation that might have unnerved Yankee great Mariano Rivera. But Stamford High lefty Tyler Curto took the ball from coach Fred Kelley in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday and calmly saved Stamford's 5-4 victory over Trinity Catholic.

"Tyler has ice in his veins," Kelley said.

Here was the predicament facing Curto and the host Black Knights: After starter Matt Sciarretta retired the first two batters in the seventh with his team up one, the sophomore walked the next two batters. Kelley quickly summoned righty Tyler Serricchio to face Trinity's right-handed pinch-hitter Dom Colarossi.

But Serricchio, who caught the first 6 2/3 innings for the Knights, walked Colarossi to load the bases.

Up stepped another righty Sean Epp. So Kelley stuck with Serrichio. But after falling behind 2-and-0 on Epp, Kelley yelled to his right fielder -- Curto -- to come in and try to nail it down.

"I was feeling the pressure because I needed to come in and throw strikes," Curto said. "(Kelley) had told me earlier that I might pitch so I was ready."

Curto threw strike one to Epp before falling behind 3-and-1. After strike two, Epp fouled off two pitches. But Curto threw his fourth consecutive strike and got Epp to fly out to left to preserve Stamford's FCIAC victory.

"I knew I had to come in and stay calm and that's what I did," Curto said.

The final out capped off an entertaining game. It figured to be a pitching duel between Sciarretta and Trinity ace Randy Polonia, and it finished that way. But Stamford (4-6, 3-5 FCIAC), which collected all five of its hits during a four-run third-inning rally, did enough damage early to take the lead in the city championship chase.

"Randy had not pitched in about 10 days and it showed," Trinity coach Tracy Nichols said of his ace. "But then he settled in nicely. And give Sciarretta credit. He pitched a gutsy game."

After allowing an unearned run in the first inning, Polonia gave up four more in the third to wipe out Trinity's 3-1 advantage. The Crusaders (3-6, 3-4) had scored once in the second on Jackson Solis' double and Matt Fusaro's RBI grounder. A single by Polonia and Matt Christensen's double led to two more in the third.